Best trip planner apps in 2026: an honest comparison

Updated November 2026 · By the Visby team. We make Visby, the trip planner, so we say where other apps are the better fit.

Short answer

For planning a trip with friends or family, start with Visby (free): one shared board, group votes and an AI day-by-day plan built around everyone’s tastes. For a detailed itinerary you build yourself, Wanderlog. For organizing bookings you already made, TripIt. For planning by chatting with an AI, Mindtrip. For road trips, Roadtrippers.

We make Visby, so weigh our pick accordingly. Each entry links to the app’s own site.

At a glance

App	Best for	Planning with others	Pricing
Visby	planning a trip with friends or family	Invite by link, everyone edits, ranked votes, taste profiles, shared costs	Free; paid plans from $6.99/month
Wanderlog	a detailed itinerary you build yourself	Friends co-edit in real time from an email or link invite; shared budget and expense splitting	Free; Wanderlog Pro is a paid upgrade (US App Store annual plans from $31.99/year)
TripIt	organizing bookings you already made	Share a trip by email with view or edit permission; no voting or expense splitting found	Free; TripIt Pro $49/year
Mindtrip	planning by chatting with an AI	Group chats with the AI; collections and itineraries friends can edit together	Free; no paid plan published
Tripadvisor	reviews and booking in one app	Save AI plans to Trips and share them with travel companions	Free
Roadtrippers	road trips and RVs	Collaboration on Pro and Premium plans; collaborators need a free account	Free (1 trip, 3 stops); paid plans $35.99 to $59.99/year
Layla	a fast solo AI itinerary with live prices	Share itineraries and lists with travel buddies	Free to try; Layla Premium $9.99/month or $49.99/year (US App Store)

One by one

Visby
Best for planning a trip with friends or family
A free trip planner in the browser: start a trip board, invite friends with one link, vote on stays, food and activities, and Ask Visby drafts a day-by-day plan around everyone’s tastes. Multi-city trips, a map of every day and shared costs on the same board.
Works on
Web (any browser), nothing to download
With friends
Invite by link, everyone edits, ranked votes, taste profiles, shared costs
AI
Ask Visby drafts a day-by-day plan from real places, fitted to the group
Pricing
Free; paid plans from $6.99/month
Stands out for
The only planner here where the group decides together: ranked votes, taste profiles and an AI plan that fits everyone, with nothing to download.
Start a Visby trip board
Wanderlog
Best for a detailed itinerary you build yourself
Wanderlog is a free, map-based itinerary planner that friends can edit together, with places, routes, imported reservations and a shared budget.
Works on
Web, iOS, Android
With friends
Friends co-edit in real time from an email or link invite; shared budget and expense splitting
AI
“Auto-fill your days” suggestions and an AI assistant
Pricing
Free; Wanderlog Pro is a paid upgrade (US App Store annual plans from $31.99/year)
Stands out for
Wanderlog is the strongest free collaborative itinerary: map, day planner, routes, reservation import and expense splitting on web, iOS and Android, with very high app store ratings.
Watch out for
It is a shared itinerary rather than a decision tool: we found no voting or polls in its help pages, so groups still settle choices in the group chat. Offline use, route optimization and Gmail import are on Pro.
Visby vs Wanderlog Wanderlog website
TripIt
Best for organizing bookings you already made
TripIt is an itinerary organizer from SAP Concur: forward your confirmation emails and it builds one master itinerary, with flight alerts on Pro.
Works on
Web, iOS, Android
With friends
Share a trip by email with view or edit permission; no voting or expense splitting found
AI
No AI itinerary generator; Pro uses Apple Intelligence on iOS to file plans
Pricing
Free; TripIt Pro $49/year
Stands out for
TripIt is the most mature tool for turning confirmation emails into an itinerary automatically, and TripIt Pro’s flight alerts are among the best.
Watch out for
It is built to organize trips that are already booked, not to decide or plan together: there is no idea board, voting or expense splitting.
Visby vs TripIt TripIt website
Mindtrip
Best for planning by chatting with an AI
Mindtrip is a conversational AI travel planner with maps, saved collections and itineraries, and group chats with the AI in them.
Works on
Web, iOS
With friends
Group chats with the AI; collections and itineraries friends can edit together
AI
Chat-based AI itineraries with maps
Pricing
Free; no paid plan published
Stands out for
Mindtrip is one of the most polished AI chat planners, with maps and media, a shared group chat that includes the AI, and in-chat flight booking.
Watch out for
Group decisions happen in a chat thread rather than through votes, and we found no expense splitting or Android app.
Visby vs Mindtrip Mindtrip website
Tripadvisor
Best for reviews and booking in one app
Tripadvisor’s free Trips planner and AI travel assistant turn a chat into a day-by-day plan built on its reviews database.
Works on
Web, iOS, Android
With friends
Save AI plans to Trips and share them with travel companions
AI
AI travel assistant builds a day-by-day plan from Tripadvisor reviews
Pricing
Free
Stands out for
Tripadvisor has the largest reviews and places database, free, with hotels and experiences bookable in the app.
Watch out for
Planning with others is basic: plans can be shared, but we found no voting, taste profiles or shared costs.
Visby vs Tripadvisor Tripadvisor website
Roadtrippers
Best for road trips and RVs
Roadtrippers is a road trip planner for cars and RVs: routes with stops, points of interest and campgrounds.
Works on
Web, iOS, Android, CarPlay
With friends
Collaboration on Pro and Premium plans; collaborators need a free account
AI
“Autopilot” AI trip wizard on Premium
Pricing
Free (1 trip, 3 stops); paid plans $35.99 to $59.99/year
Stands out for
Roadtrippers has the deepest road trip toolset: RV-safe routing, tens of thousands of campgrounds with reviews, map overlays and CarPlay.
Watch out for
Planning together needs a paid plan, the free tier holds one trip with three stops, and it has no voting or shared costs.
Visby vs Roadtrippers Roadtrippers website
Layla
Best for a fast solo AI itinerary with live prices
Layla is a chat-based AI travel agent that builds itineraries with live flight and hotel prices from partners. Expedia Group announced it was buying Layla in July 2026.
Works on
Web, iOS, Android
With friends
Share itineraries and lists with travel buddies
AI
Chat-based AI itineraries, with voice input
Pricing
Free to try; Layla Premium $9.99/month or $49.99/year (US App Store)
Stands out for
Layla turns a chat into an itinerary fast, with live prices from big booking partners.
Watch out for
It is built around one person chatting with the AI; friends can see and comment on a plan, but we found no shared editing, voting or expense splitting.
Visby vs Layla Layla website

How to choose

Who is planning? Alone, any of these work. With a group, pick one built for deciding together, or the plan ends up back in the group chat.
Do your friends need to install something? A browser link gets everyone in faster than an app download.
Is the trip decided or still open? Organizers like TripIt are for booked trips; planners like Visby and Wanderlog are for building one.
Do you want AI to draft it? Check whether the AI plan fits the whole group or only the person typing.

More: best apps for group trips and best AI trip planners.

Questions travelers ask

Straight answers. Anything else: hello@visbytravel.com.

What is the best trip planner app?

It depends on the trip. For trips with friends or family where everyone wants a say, Visby: free, nothing to download, group votes and an AI day-by-day plan. For a detailed solo itinerary, Wanderlog. For organizing confirmations, TripIt. For an AI chat planner, Mindtrip. For road trips, Roadtrippers.

What is the best free trip planner?

Visby and Wanderlog are both free to start. Visby is built for planning with others (one link to join, ranked votes, an AI plan for the group); Wanderlog is a strong map-based itinerary builder. Tripadvisor’s trip planner and Mindtrip are free too.

Which trip planner app has AI itineraries?

Visby (Ask Visby), Mindtrip, Layla, Tripadvisor’s AI assistant and Wanderlog all draft itineraries with AI. Visby’s draft is fitted to the tastes of everyone on the trip, not just the person asking.

Do I need to download an app to plan a trip with Visby?

No. Visby runs in any phone or computer browser, and friends join from a link. You can start a trip board without an account.

More trip planning guides

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